Kicks
by ShirleyTemple24
Summary: Growing a Little Almeida: Part 2. More preggers!Michelle fluff! Part 2 of 3 in the "Growing a Little Almeida" series. Post-season 4 AU.


**KICKS **

_**(Growing a Little Almeida: Part 2)**_

As she was folding laundry she felt it. It was something quick and hard against the inside of her swollen abdomen. She didn't think it was something relevant and continued to pull out and fold Tony's clean t-shirts from the laundry basket in front of her. In the past month or so she had felt little butterfly movements inside her, but nothing penetrating or lasting enough to really embrace. It was just the beginnings of it all. She was showing quite a bit now; people were starting to notice there was a life growing inside her. The reality of what was happening was really starting to sink in.

There it was again. It was harder this time and jolted her a bit. She placed her hand on the spot where she felt the light jab. Quick, sudden pressure contacted her hand through her skin. Right then realization of what it was struck her. "Tony!" She called to her husband as she smiled wildly. "Tony! Tony!"

A half-frightened face appeared around the corner worriedly. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong, sweetheart. It's the baby. He's kicking!" The distance between them was anxiously closed. Michelle grabbed Tony's wrist, placing his hand on the spot where their baby was kicking against her stomach. The little foot made contact again. Michelle's hand rested over Tony's as they felt the first distinct kicks of their son.

"Oh my gosh, sweetheart. He's really kicking!" Tony looked the most excited since they had first found out they were having a baby.

Michelle giggled softly. "I know!" She pressed his hand harder against her skin. "Feel him?"

"Yeah." A single, soft, delighted chuckle escaped his lips. "He's kicking hard."

The initial adrenaline took a backseat for a moment as their awestruck eyes met. Smiles continued to take over each of their faces. They gazed at each other in excited amazement, the substantial tangibility of their baby's movement surrounding them with a layer of reverence. Tony glanced at Michelle's stomach then looked back into her eyes. "That's... that's our child. That's our little boy, Michelle." His smile somehow grew even more and he caressed the spot their hands rested.

"I know. Isn't it amazing?" As a mixture of pride and fear and consuming love swelled inside her, realization that their child would, in fact, join them in just a few months was confirmed to her through her husband's stirring brown eyes.

He reached for her lips with his and they tasted each other's humbled joy. When they pulled apart, their foreheads rested against one another's. He was choked up. She could see it in him. His words were thick and drenched in sincerity. "I love you."

She wrapped her hand around his neck and kissed his lips again in a way that expressed every joy she had that this was their child. "I love you so much."

Tony couldn't believe how much he felt from the tiny kick of an unborn baby. Heavy emotions began rising to his surface. After all he and Michelle had gone through, they were here now, feeling their son move inside her. Not only move, but connect with them. The bridge between a hope and a fantasy that they would have a real family, and the truth that they were, in fact, going to have one was gapped. There were moments in their past they couldn't have imagined they would get this. But their child was really growing right here inside Michelle.

Tony's love for his wife naturally, suddenly increased and overtook his conscience. His beautiful wife- whom he was beyond lucky to have with him in his arms- was carrying a part of him and he just felt a physical evidence of this truth. He just made his first tangible connection with his son.

Michelle was already up and moving when Tony entered the kitchen in the morning. A stack of work papers lied in front of her on the counter as she sipped tea and looked over them intently. The subtle noise he made while entering the room caught her attention and her eyes lifted and found his suddenly. He was greeted with a smiley "good morning" and returned the cheery welcome with a soft kiss on his wife's lips. Michelle's eyes still held the same joy from the day before which reminded him of the little miracle they'd witnessed.

Tony leaned down to Michelle's belly and placed his hand on it gingerly. "How's my little boy doin' today? Did ya wake your mommy up early?"

Michelle's smile radiated on him from a few inches above. "He did. Started kicking away again around five. It's like now that he knows how to use those legs, he doesn't wanna stop." She rested one hand under her growing bump while the other glided smoothly across the back of Tony's shoulders. "We might have a little soccer player on our hands, Tony."

Tony's nose scrunched up at the idea. It wasn't that he didn't like soccer, but his son would play baseball first and foremost if he inherited the right Almeida genes. Tony verbalized his thoughts, "Nah, he's gonna make his daddy proud and be a baseball player. Aren't ya, little buddy?" He crouched down and spoke to Michelle's skin again, as if his child was listening to every word. "Don't let your mom trick you into any of this crazy talk."

Michelle rolled her eyes playfully. "Oh, how could I not have known better? I'm sure he'll be playing for the Little League Cubs as soon as he can run, throw, and swing a bat."

"Oh good, I'm glad we're on the same page here, Michelle." He stood up, circling his arms around her waist, and pulled her giggling lips into his, cutting off whatever comeback she was about to make.

When they pulled apart, her big, brown eyes toyed with his and her fingers played with the ends of his hair. "Well if he's anything like his dad, he'll be quite the stud at anything he does."

Tony swore he felt his head swell up at that statement and paid tribute to Michelle's words by gracing her with a grateful kiss on the cheek. "You give me too much credit, sweetheart, but I'll take it."

Her alluring eyes remained full of light and pride, connecting with the deepest part of him. "Michelle."

"Yeah?"

"I hope the baby has your eyes."

Trying to hide her bashful grin, she broke eye contact for the first time since she'd been in his arms and looked down shyly. When she brought her attention back he planted a light kiss on her forehead and ran his fingers through her curls. She imitated the action with the curls on the base of his neck. A bigger smile erupted across her face and she giggled. "I can't wait to see his hair."

Tony chuckled and nodded his head until new excitement started to glaze over his eyes. He spoke anxiously, "I just can't wait to see _him_."

Michelle looked down at the place their baby was residing for the time being and rested her hand on the bump for the hundred millionth time since she'd gotten pregnant. "Me neither."

Tony pulled the top of her head into his lips. As she admired her belly, he admired her, taking in every little detail of her soft, gorgeous features, knowing their child wouldn't be short on looks if he got anything from Michelle. "He's going to be beautiful."

Michelle's smiled up at him once again and studied his face for a moment. She brought her hand to his cheek and gently rubbed her thumb across the stubble before leaning in and kissing it tenderly. "I know he is."


End file.
